


Campfire

by Fwiffo



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-07
Updated: 2012-05-07
Packaged: 2017-11-04 23:40:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/399492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fwiffo/pseuds/Fwiffo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"It's cold, AR.  Why don't you join us?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Campfire

AR clutched his legs, crouched behind the hard surface of the rock that brushed against his back. He stared at the ground, his attention focused on counting the pebbles beneath his feet. Or at the very least, he told himself to focus on that.

His mind betrayed him every time he heard the quiet clack of carapace, a small giggle here or there. The crackling of the fire interrupted by a content sigh or a snippet of conversation. AR's imagination filled in the blanks for what he didn't see and could only hear, empty spaces he desperately wished were left that way.

He continued to concentrate on his breathing, something that he found he had been doing for the past ten minutes now. However, the counting of his breaths only became relevant as the frequency of giggles began to increase and the laughs started to become more boisterous. The dersite's feet felt numb, an ironic contrast to the rest of his body and mind; with every overheard sound the hot pounding in his heart increased, his breathing quickened, his mind raced.

His curiosity began to tie the stifling knots in his gut together, and then gave them a sharp tug. So slowly, very slowly, he rose and peeked his head out from behind the rock. He averted his gaze and ducked down again as soon as he saw them, the warmth of the campfire lighting their entwined bodies. Their expressions were firmly fixed into his mind, WV's closed eyes and PM's blissful smile. The way each of their hands fell neatly into the other's, as if made for it. Little things that he'd never be able to forget.

He shook in the cold and pulled his arms off of his knees to wrap them around his torso. AR could not stay here forever, so with one final breath he stood. The walk to the campfire was unnervingly mundane and the pair smiled at him as he approached. The gesture coincided with a particularly brutal gust of wind, giving AR an excuse for the shivers that went down his spine as he greeted them.

The conversation was brief, hardly enough to even qualify as such. A stutter there, a mutter there, AR trying his best to find places to put his gaze as he spoke, feeling rude if he left it lingering on his companions for longer than a second. A gruff comment hidden behind a cough, an action that only received friendly smiles and laughs in response. 

Their casualness as they spoke to him with an arm draped over a shoulder and hands intertwined shook him. It shook him to the very core for reasons he didn't quite understand. His lips pursed every time they shifted positions, his fingers tensed at every minute motion. 

"It's cold, AR. Why don't you join us?"

The question caught him off guard, heart and breath both stopping before the it fully registered in his mind. His eyes widened and immediately turned their attention to the sky. The thought ran through his head as his fingers subconsciously fidgeted, like little spiders on their death knell.

"No thank you," he said, his stare focusing on the empty terrain behind them. 

"AR, we wouldn't mind it," PM encouraged, her eyes pleading and welcoming smile only growing wider. "Please?" 

"No," the Renegade said, tone harsh and face unnaturally still, save for the bright eyes that stared through the pair. He saw the disappointment that flushed across their faces, smiles that faded for a flash from the sting of rejection. Both dersite and prospitian nodded at him, both turning their attention to the campfire in silence. The air around their touch felt thick, as if they should break apart their contact and return to the cold, but neither could decide upon the right course of action.

AR turned and walked away, his entire body shaking as he did so. Each step fatigued him as if it had been a mile, a cold heaviness growing in him as the warmth of the campfire died at his back. When he finally mustered the courage to turn around, the flickering campfire was hardly registered as a speck in the distance.


End file.
